Wonton Hor D'Oureves: Taco Bites and Apple Cheesecakes

In need of a good hor d'oeuvre? Wonton wrappers to the rescue! I have done so many fun things with won ton wrappers -- from crab ragonnes to baked mozzarella sticks to sweet potato raviolis to your traditional chicken dumpling -- and I've never been disappointed. But wrapping up all those teeny tiny wontons can be time consuming and quite frankly, bit annoying. Solution? Wonton cups!

Simply insert the wonton into a mini muffin tin and bake to create a cup which  you can fill with any number of different options to make a cute little hor d'oeuvre. Or you can use a regular sized muffin tin and two wonton wrappers to create a larger cup for an appetizer or light meal - sized portion. I'm telling you -- people are really impressed by things that look fancy! Your dish may be incredibly tasty but its often the presentation that wins people over at potlucks. 

So what can you fill these cups with? I choose to do one savory -- taco dip -- and one sweet -- cinnamon cream cheese mixed with yogurt and topped with apples and walnuts. But the possibilities are virtually endless: spinach and artichoke dip; shrimp salad; strawberries and chocolate sauce with fresh mint; brie and jam; tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil; shredded steak with sautéed onions and peppers topped with provolone; pumpkin pie filling and a dollop of whipped cream... Have another idea? Share it in the comments!

If you choose to do one with cheese, I'd recommend popping the filled cups back into the oven under the broiler for a bit to melt the cheese as I did with my taco dip ones. Check out the recipes below for details.

And one last thing for today -- Happy Birthday Dad! (There's gotta be some benefits to having your own blog... getting to give personal shout outs is one of them!) 

Wonton Hor D'Oureves: Taco Bites and Apple Cheesecakes

Preheat oven to 375. Spray mini muffin tin. Press wrappers into muffin cavities. Bake for 5 minutes. Re-press wrappers into cups to make sure they are all "cup-shaped." Bake for another 3-4 minutes until hardened and light golden brown. 

Taco Bites: 

Put a small dollop of cream cheese into the bottom of the cup. Top with salsa and shredded cheddar. Bake until cheese is melted. 

Apple Cheesecakes: 

Before baking the cups, sprinkle with cinnamon and a bit of sugar. 

For each dozen cups, mix two triangles of Laughing Cow cinnamon cream cheese with 1/3 c of plain greek yogurt. Put small dollop into the bottom of the cup. Top with finely diced apple (granny smith works well) and chopped walnuts.